Monday, March 2, 2015

Slow and Deliberate

I realize we're already into the third month of the year but because last year was so very amazing (in a challenging, stretching, answer-to-many-prayers sort of way) I can't help but feel as if we could be on the cusp of another.

As we watch our (former) foster child adjust healthily back home to his birth family, we anticipate being needed less. This will open up space for our family and especially for me.  What will the year bring?  How can I help us get ready?  What projects are worthy of tackling?

This past Friday night as I lie in bed trying to fall asleep, the words "slow and deliberate" came to me as clear as an audible voice inside my own head can be.

Slow and deliberate.

It's a reminder to me that while my time is being freed up, I need to protect it.  Instead of filling up every extra weekend, evening, afternoon, and hour, I need to be slow and deliberate- weighing each opportunity.  Will this activity or project be life-giving to our family?  Will it promote peace, healing and rejuvenation?  Will it give us the rest and time we need to prepare for another possible placement?

Many people have asked me how we do or get done everything we do.  My answer is often one that seems so obvious to us.  We stay open.  We try to make ourselves available to those around us who may need our help and our relationships.  The idea of slow and deliberate confirms in me that we should stay this course.

While we don't know how our family will be used this coming year, I do know that I don't want to be caught off guard.  I don't want to turn down opportunities because we've over-booked or over-scheduled or over-exhausted us.

I challenge you, even as your year is already in full swing, to be slow and deliberate, too.   May we all live in a deliberate way- working toward whatever goals/dreams/visions God has placed on our hearts.  Let's pray for wisdom and God's guidance as we discern how our families should fill our calendars this year.


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3 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for sharing that; my heart needed to hear that today! We are getting ready for a new season of life in our home as our son prepares to move out and I contemplate the empty nest. It is tempting to rush around and try to fill my time with "stuff". Thanks for the reminder to be slow, deliberate, and prayerful with what God wants for me in this new time!

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  2. Well said! It took us way too long to learn this but now that we are empty nesters we try to live by this. It is easy for us to allow our lives to be eaten up by home projects and maintenance when we need to allow time to minister to and fellowship with others. As a couple we also try to be sensitive to time that we can really focus on each other without interruptions and distractions.

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  3. Yesterday - while working in my garden and lamenting the fact that I feel that I am already behind in all of the prep work that has to be done - PLUS - everything I am letting slide to be in the glorious outdoors - the Lord brought your post to mind. I took a deep breath, and reaffirmed that He is in control of my time, and instantly felt so much better. Thank you for this post!

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